Blogging for the Gray Wolf

The time for zoo’s has come and gone. They are prisons where animal captives live out sad lives. Zoo’s always use the excuse they are protecting endangered species but Harambe is the perfect example of the truth to that lie. Why are they breeding gorillas who will never be free or live in the wild? If we want to help the critically endangered lowland gorillas survive why not invest in protecting their habitat from human encroachment, from the bushmeat trade and from poachers, using armed rangers as many national preserves in Africa do.

It”s not going to happen overnight but eventually zoo’s can be phased out and as Marc Bekoff says, turned into sanctuaries for the remaining captive animals.

Zoo’s are relic’s of the past and I for one would not mind to see them gone.

For Harambe,

Nabeki

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Why Was Harambe the Gorilla in a Zoo in the First Place?

Amid the debate over who was at fault in the death of a beloved animal, we need to step back and ask a different question

As I said in my first post relative to this matter, zoos are disgusting places. Much like circuses and theme parks and their use and manipulation of other animals for our personal enjoyment, they must go. Perhaps a sign that we are becoming more aware as a species. This issue of the sovereignty of other animals and their right, their right! to live unmolested and personal lives with freedom and family is big time on the table right now. Let’s keep the momentum going. We have a very long way to go with lot’s of work to do not just with the situation with domestic animals but with our wild ones as well. As Bob Dylan said, the hour is getting late.

Many people are beginning to realise, at last, how cruel sea world places are. The mammals there have no freedom, the ocean to a tiny swimming pool.
Need I say more, but zoo’s no better! They pay for animals to be torn away from their family and natural habitat.
I would never spend my money in those places.

At first I wanted to say that saving endangered species, the Mexican wolf in this case, is looking towards the future. There are wolf sanctuaries across our continent breeding and preventing inbreeding. And what has that brought us? Special interests blocking release of these important top predators and the powers-that-be bending towards those special interests. They will eventually die off in captivity and we’re back to square zero.

What a cutie. I have to say, I feel terrible for this man who raised Harambe and this zoo, who seem to care and a much higher caliber than that political player at Cincinnati. It’s too bad this man couldn’t be with a sanctuary, maybe he is? He shows much more compassion. Now they are saying poor Harambe was holding hands with the little boy. Heartbreaking – what a world of horror we are.

there needs to be mega sanctuaries in safe places as many of the critically endangered animals are not safe in their normal habitat [or even their own countries, but then they aren’t faring well the the fed parks here either thanks to a .blm, fwlm that seems to cater to special interest groups] people can make me sick with their lack of foresight or understanding of wildlife or their real value of life and nature

The Humanist mentality reigns over this planet, destroying Earth’s non-humans and all life support systems—this egregious idea of capturing & breeding wild animals for display in zoos, circuses is a terrible carryover from the Roman Empire.

As I said I am no expert but looks like he was protecting the boy when they were trying to get him back in his cage. See the experts know so little about the behavior of the animals and for this reason alone they should be shut down. This was a real tragic event and the media is saying they had no choice they always have a choice.

They were obviously so woefully unprepared for this accident, which is the biggest thing. As far as investigating the parents, it reminds me of just a societal wrist slap, as in the ‘accidental’ killing of wolves thought to be coyotes, etc. Just a band-aid gesture. I’m not expecting much to come of it.

The zoo really is the one who needs to be held accountable. Who would tell their boss ‘that’s the way we’ve always done things and never had a problem’ without getting called on the carpet? The so-called beefing up of the fence looks like a good northeast wind could still blow it over. How can that protect anything? The kid probably crawled though an opening at his own level. Look at it through his eyes. The thing about his zoo is that they appear to stubbornly admit wrongdoing or to correct anything.

As far as zoos educating kids, zoos have been around for centuries and it doesn’t look like anyone’s learning anything as we barrel headlong towards extinction. It’s the parents’ job to guide children in the right direction and answer their serious questions, zoos are not kid distractions for those overwhelmed by parenting responsibilities. Sanctuaries and protection of habitat are the ethical ways to go in modern times.

We shouldn’t place endangered species in public view as science maintains, the extinctions of Earth’s strands in the web of all life are as safe for planet Earth and mankind as global, thermonuclear war. Dr. E.O. Wilson claims, the extinctions of biodiversity are more a dangerous threat to Earth and mankind than climate change. As all life is interconnected and integrated, extinction rate and climate change are related.

This is a classic example of how zoos absolutely do NOT protect the animals from us. They need to be shut down. Animals are not here for our entertainment. People need to take responsibility for their children. They say, “Oh, you can’t watch them every minute”. Well, you know what, you HAVE TO, or don’t have them. There are worse things in life than not being born, and there are FIVE BILLION more people in this world than this planet can comfortably sustain. Those stupid people were just lucky some human abductor did not take her child while she was otherwise occupied with her phone. It’s abominable this poor animal had to be killed. A word to the wise: Keep your child on a leash!

well…before you get out your fences cutters,think about this…these mammals throughout the world would not be there on earth right here and right now if it wasn’t for the zoos…yes there will always pros and cons for the zoos…but many species would have perished decades ago…This one horrible incident does not make it impossible for the Zoos anymore…The parents are to be blame for this…and clearly we as saw as this child is just another ignored and undisciplined soul that someday will grow up and probably will have a unhappy life overall.

🙂 Just think of how many mammals throughout the world would still be here if we hadn’t overrun their habitats and hunted them down to such low numbers! Let’s not call zoos animals saviors; they are not. Even with accredited zoos, the ones that truly help conserve species you could probably count on one hand. Not all zoos are created equal in that regard, and they are mostly entertainment and money-making, parasitic ventures. Especially the roadside, substandard variety. The USDA ought not to be handing out permits like confetti, I don’t think.

Good post, Nabeki: It is a travesty that wild animals, who had families, and friends in the wild, were ripped from their habitat, sold into slavery–just for human fun, profit and entertainment. Some of these wild animals (if there is still healthy habitat) could be returned to their original homes. The questions then is, what can we do to help restore, maintain and save remaining wild places around the Earth, as Climate Change worsens.

My response to Cindra: Your argument that….” these mammals throughout the world would not be there on earth right here and right now if it wasn’t for the zoos, ” is just another propaganda piece made up by the Zoo Industry, to further their ends–after all, it is an industry, and industries must make money, and this industry makes $$$ from the large, charismatic fauna, such as gorillas, elephants, tigers, etc.

Dian Fossey, was murdered trying to save the gorillas in Africa from the kidnapping of this species by the zoo industry. She knew full well what the zoos were up to and what their agenda was. That is why she was murdered.

The only fortunate thing about Harambe’s death is that it is driving discussions about what his life should have been and whether he belonged in a zoo where he could lose his life for no fault of his own. We’re told that zoos are needed so that experts can breed small populations of endangered species to help scientists working with wildlife populations. That function of a zoo could be better carried out in a sanctuary-style setting where the animals could be observed without all the commotion of visitors and gawkers. The zoo is also considered important as a place where families can have “unique experiences and children can learn about the natural world and respect for animals.” Is that what really happens?

I suspect that at bottom what the zoos have really become are income generators and job creators for the benefit of the people who staff them and the communities where they are located. They are “income engines” who generate 16.0 billion to the GDP.

They have also become, as Jeff Corwin noted, baby sitters, and for the general public they end up being entertainment centers.
As for offering a learning experience–how many kids, including a 3-year-old, care that gorillas are the largest of the great apes? How many care where their real home should be? How many care what is happening to them in that home, that they are killed by poachers and slaughtered for meat, that they are now endangered. Making animals spend their lives in an enclosure as learning tools is not an ethical decision.

Harambe’s fate reveals that zoos cannot even guarantee animals their safety, much less quality of life. The zoo maintains that there were no breaches of the barrier of the gorilla enclosure since the zoo opened in 1978. That seems almost miraculous! Human behavior has not improved in the last 40 years, andn we have seen incidents between intrusive human beings, often drunk, mentally ill, and just plain witless, and zoo animals. A lot of people could have gotten over a 3-foot-high fence and jumped into the enclosure. A 3-year-old revealed how easy it was.

I found the zoo’s response unsettling, to put it politely. Since I am not an expert on primate behavior, I cannot judge whether Harambe was behaving naturally or aggressively. That he could have hurt the child who propelled himself uninvited into Harambe’s home cannot be denied. However, zoo director Thane Maynard was instantaneously reassuring everyone that killing Harambe was necessary, that ensuring human life and safety are the most important functions of a zoo. So no harm must come to a human being no matter the provocation. I suspect the quick killing of the innocent Harambe had a lot to do with the hopes of avoiding liability and of assuring people that they are the ones that count, that the animals held captive in the zoo as learning tools are disposable with the pull of a trigger should any threaten harm to a person.

Hall says that Harambe “will force the public to rethink gorillas wherever we look at them.” He also notes that “what is needed is a humanity capable of respecting the interests of other members of Earth’s biological community . . . and that such a paradigmatic shift will enable us to gain an authentic respect for the ethic beneath our outrage over Harambe’s death . . . .”

Can we really expect a paradigm shift a la Thomas Kuhn, much as it would be desired? According to Hall even the Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, home of the mountain gorilla, spoke of those animals as “common resource.” How different is that from the viewpoint of many Americans even with respect to endangered species? How different is that from the visitors who come for entertainment and the staff who earn a paycheck?

After I wrote my comment on an article after Harambe’s death, expressing the catastrophic effects on him from a possibly inattentive mother and a seemingly clueless zoo staff, I received the following comment back when I referred to Harambe as “he” rather than “it”: Marcia, you are an animal? Hmmm. Please don’t say “us” cause I’m Created in the Image of GOD and HE certainly is no animal. In fact, GOD subjected all animals to my dominion…

That is the mindset that allows zoos to contain their captive animals for gawkers and whose animals are only as safe as the next sorry specimen of humanity who invades their space and gets them killed. It is the same mindset that sends well-armed hunters into the hills every fall and audiences to circuses and rodeos. It is the same mindset that keeps McDonald’s and KFC mushrooming around the globe.

I hope the outrage and energy over Harambe’s death continue and motivate people to change the primitive mindset that helped to destroy his life and so many others. Harambe deserves such a legacy. And so do Marius and Cecil and all the rest.

Still so sad and angry about Harambe. I blame the inattention of the mother who did not notice the whereabouts of her son who had announced he wanted to be in the most (would it not have taken more than a second or two to get to the barrier, get over it, go through the bushes, and jump into the enclosure.

The zoo should also have noticed that the barrier was not adequate. A three-year-old child proven that. It’s a wonder a witless teenager, drunk, or psychotic hadn’t already done it.

Harambe’s fate, along with the fate of other zoo animals reveal they are not even safe in their enclosures. Harambe was gunned down in what was supposed to be his space.

We need to question if it fair to imprison animals as learning tools. How many people, including the child, cared that gorillas are the largest of the great apes, or how they evolved, or where Harambe would have lived in his homeland, or why Harambe was a member of an endangered species and why he was in the zoo in the first place.

Harambe is no longer on this earth. Hopefully his spirit is home in his native land. Trying to do something in his memory, I adopted gorillas at the Dian Fossey International Fund. I hope that somewhere Harambe knows many people care.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of Wolf 253, the beloved Yellowstone Druid wolf named Limpy, who was shot and killed in March 08, on the very day ESA protections were lifted for the gray wolf, by the then Bush Administration.